Chinjak Festival (2012) And Nostalgia

Maisnam Chanu Liklainu *

Attempt to make the longest green salad (100 metres) in India using a total of 781.3 kgs of onion, cucumber, tomato, cabbage, watermelon, coriander, mint and banana leaves besides cheese and spices within 90 minutes at the International Chinjak Fest :: Pix by Hueiyen Lanpao

We have almost reached a saturation point of the Korean pop overkill. We have reached the stage where we are bored of the snobby Koreans. A lot of fuss has been made about kimchi, which is a fermented Korean dish made of vegetables with varied seasonings. Kimchi failed to impress me with its tangy taste though it always sounded good and cute.

The Chinjak festival has an array of dishes. Chicken was grilled perfectly and it really kicked the tip of the foodie's tongue. Some of the food items tasted were dry ,bland and spicy. We ordered a few snacks all of which were decent. We enjoyed the chunky pieces of pork and chicken in the variety of food items that we tasted.

Fries, barbeque, broccoli, salad - you name it and you will get it. We sampled a variety of items that was damn delicious and refreshing. Some of the dishes at the food festival was lapped up in no time.

The ambience in the Chinjak festival was very relaxed and upbeat. The longest green salad spread was attempted to make it to the Limca Book of records. The place was filled with energetic and fun loving people. The festival has got all the smattering varieties of Kabui, Tangkhul, Sekmai and other unique local food.

The Kabui food was low key and was much better than the international food stalls. The Tangkhul stall enticed us with their sesame and gooseberries drinks. The Nahakpam food and beverages was clearly a winner with its chic style of serving.

The dishes on the Chinese menu were chicken with fish bladder soup, fish boiled, chicken fried with ginger. Laos offered us the papaya salad, spicy minced pork and sliced pork salad.

Thai stall gave us the glimpse of the pork satay, pork grilled and fish salad. Singapore stall came up with the shark fin soup and the four seasoned fish. They were at their inventive and creative best. The novelty was there though it could have offered us more. The Chinjak festival gave me a sense of deja vu. So, let me recapitulate the food joints of three unique places.

THE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL AT JNU: The International food festival at JNU was a regular feature attracting a lot of eager foodies. The Koreans dominated the scene and they knew exactly how to project their soft power with its cuisines, music, films and soap operas. They stood out with their "Be The Reds!" t-shirts.

The Korean stall took pride in the rising demand for its kimchi, gimbab and others. They were incredibly clean with gloves in their hands and hygiene was emphasized. That was the beauty of the spic and span Koreans.

Speaking Korean definitely helped get the server's attention. You waived hanseyo and they will be at your disposal. We tried the Chinese food by saying nihow and with the Japanese it was the ohaiyu gozaimash. The menu was diverse, the choice of decoration was appealing it gave us a pleasant feeling. The food was phenomenal and the servings were large.

The most exciting part was going with an extremely hungry group of friends who weren't afraid of being an adventurous eater. Besides showcashing the cuisines from different countries, the festival gave us the chance to explore the international music too.

FOOD IN TAMU: The outdoor food stands in Tamu market wasn't chic and classy. Some food joints had the weirdest decor with round tables and the place looked cramped. We checked in a Chinese restaurant in Tamu. We had this perfect Oriental feel. The traditionally clad Myanmarese greeted us. The music was loud and the lyrics was Greek to us.

Most of the food items had lots of noodles, mushroom, eggs, vegetables, melted cheese and spicy broth. We did have a unique vibe despite the language barrier. It was a classic case of the "naron iron thaimai, thaimai" situation. We used the weirdest sign language to convey what we wanted. The waitresses served us the strangest food unknown to us and we became an adventurous eater. It was pure fun and the food was awesome.

FOOD IN BANGKOK: The buzzing and booming city greeted us with awesome food and great vibe. The food items ranged from delicious to crispy to sweet and sour. The service was friendly and fast. The feel good factor was there and the foodies thronged the roadside makeshift food joints.

In Sukhumvit, we encountered restaurants catering to all taste buds. Sampling the marine variety in the form of mollusks, crustaceans and echinoderms was quite an experience. The mind-boggling taste of extraordinary fishes, shellfishes, shrimps, lobsters and seaweeds left an indelible impression.

Some food items were doused in sweet sauce and it looked colourful and chewable. We had the most endearing encounter with the Thais. Our attempts to converse with them came in the form of "No have" and "Cannot". They meant to say they didn't have the stuff we were looking for and by "Cannot" they meant to say no bargaining.

It was a light moment for some of our friends who shopped till they dropped and it gave them the much needed humour to invigorate them. We encountered the shopkeepers with calculators. Calculators conveyed what they couldn't by being the much needed link. Halleluyah!

The charm of these three places and their food habits cannot be easily erased. Yes, food festival is the time to catch up with friends recreating those good and old memories from college and university days where we were not afraid to be an adventurous eater. The price was affordable and reasonable.

Folks, catch the Chinjak festival and you will not be dissapointed.

See a full photo gallery of Chinjak festival 2012 here

(*** This article was written during the Chinjak festival 2012 which started from April 20 2012)